Not all that well, then Coraline returns with bad news

In his head, Marcus had always thought things like chores were easy. The maids around him always did everything like cleaning his room or washing his clothes so quickly and effortlessly it just seemed like it wouldn't be that hard for him to do the same. Sometimes he used to just casually leave his bedroom in a terrible state, knowing that when he got back from dinner it would all be perfectly clean again. Only now did he realize just how much work it was to scrub a pot or dust a shelf. Every time he thought he might have finished, he'd glance back over his work and see he'd missed a spot of dirt somewhere and have to go and clean that too.

With so much to do all by himself, all the hard labor was leaving him exhausted, his arms and shoulders aching and sore. Even his hands were raw from all the scrubbing. It gave him a new respect for the servants back in the castle, and he silently promised himself if he ever made it back there he'd try to make their jobs easier by not leaving so much of a mess everywhere, but that didn't make his situation any better.

As the hours dragged on and he kept struggling and finding new ways to mess up, the prospect of Coraline's return and her promised punishments made him more and more anxious. This stupid dress was the worst part. It made Marcus feel so awkward and clumsy, and he was constantly afraid of the short hem rolling up too far to bare his naked butt. Even though there was no-one here to see!

Plus he was terrified of accidently getting it dirty after Coraline's threats. He'd only thought to roll up the sleeves after he'd already awkwardly scrubbed one of the bowls in hot water. That had left him standing over the sink with wet soapy hands waiting for them to dry so he could touch the pink fabric without staining it. Now he found himself constantly pausing his work to check every inch of the stupid thing and make sure he hadn't left a mark anywhere. A spanking was bad enough, and Coraline had promised even worse if he messed up her dress!

The young prince was still in the middle of hanging up clothes in the bedroom when he heard the door to the house swing open suddenly. He jumped out of his skin, cold panic flooding through his body. Oh no! She was back! And he hadn't finished these yet! Plus there was still the bed to be made! She was going to be so mad at him! His poor butt tingled as he imagined the awful spanking he was about to get. Both cheeks were still kind of sore from this morning, and now his maid was going to hurt him all over again! On the bare butt this time!

"Marcus, dear!" He heard Coraline's shrill shout from the door, but just stood there limply. Part of him just wanted to go and hide under the bed, even though he knew she'd find him anyway. "Marcus, are you there?" She called out again, and the note of panic in her voice made him stiffen. Something was wrong...

"I'm here, Coraline." He answered, hurrying out of the bedroom. His maid was standing in the doorway, looking flustered, her large chest bouncing under her dress with every heaving breath.

"Oh...thank Heaven you're alright!" She gasped, darting over to the young prince and hugging him tightly to her. Again he found himself squashed right into her boobs, and it got rather difficult to think with his face buried between those huge, soft mounds. "We have a big problem, dear! I knew it was a good idea to tell them you were my daughter last night, it's all that's saved us both from being executed."

"What happened?" Marcus gasped, fighting her grip a little to lift his head out of her cleavage. "What's my uncle doing?"

"He's tearing up everywhere looking for you, dear." Coraline explained hurriedly, squashing his face back between her boobs like she never meant to let him escape them. "He has the King and Queen captured already, so you're the last threat to his reign. He's offering a huge reward for anyone who finds you, and I don't think he much cares if it's dead or alive."

"No!" Marcus whimpered at this horrible news. Not his Mother and Father! And now his Uncle wanted him dead? How could Gaius be so awful?

"It gets worse, dear, I'm afraid. A lot of his soldiers saw you last night." Coraline continued. "We're really lucky for Sergeant Castus. Well, it's Lieutenant Castus now. I ran into him in one of the corridors, and he explained everything. He was quite **** to, in fact. Turns out he saved your Uncle's life during the attack, so he's really on his way up through the ranks. Without him, they'd have thrown me in the dungeons and tracked you here already. He's been telling everyone, including your Uncle, that you're just my scared, anxious daughter and not the prince after all, and they've believed him! Now he's been put in charge of searching the town for you! I have to make sure he doesn't realize the truth, for both our sakes."

"What do we do, Coraline?" Marcus asked frantically. This was all really scary! His hands clung to the front of his maid and he pressed himself even tighter against her soft body, desperately seeking comfort from the one person in the world he had left to offer it.

"I know you're frightened, dear." She murmured, her hand rubbing gently at his trembling back. "You mustn't worry though. Trust Mama, okay? Just listen to me. I have a plan to make sure your mean Uncle never realizes who you are."